Saturday, April 15, 2006

Day 1Our first stop for Easter was Amsterdam. After an early morning flight from Gatwick we landed and took the short train ride to Amsterdam.

The bike parking area outside central station. Amsterdam is just so flat and compact that getting around by bike is so easy, weather permitting.

Kelly and her giant clogs.

Mmmm, beer. The Heineken Museum. The rooms take you through the brewing process and the history of the beer.

Heineken posters throughout time.

Noodles in Amsterdam. Even with the ease of cycling around the city centre, when you are bikeless then the trams and busses offer the best option.

One of the many Amsterdam canals.

Day 2On our second day we picked up our hire car - our preferred transport for the next 4 days. We had a little hatchback Astra-esque model. The plan for the trip was pretty rough at this stage, but first on the agenda was getting used to left-hand drive and the right side of the road. After departing Amsterdam we headed due west towards Haarlem.

Zandvoort beach, west of Haarlem. At last a beach with sand, dunes and some semblence of waves. It is a beach side resort, with nowhere near the commercialism or bustle of Brighton.

Daffodil fields on the side of the main road between Haarlem and Den Haag.

Keukenhof gardens is a large producer of flowers from March-May. Unfortunately, a lot of the fields had already been harvested, but the ones directly behind the key photo area had been spared.

Kelly was in tulip heaven. Tulips of every single colour were on display in the gardens.

The entrance to the Keukenhof Gardens.

A selection of tulips on display. Don't worry, we have plenty more photos, if these ones aren't enough for you, girls.

Displays of different flower varieties in the green house.

After spending the afternoon in the gardens, the target destination for the night was Den Haag. We were so caught up in exploring for the day we forgot to arrange some accommodation for the night. So after finding our way into Den Haag the first stop was central train station to find internet access and a last minute hotel deal. Unbeknownst to us there is a Sofitel next to the station. Out of curiosity Kelly went in to find a room, which was amazingly cheap for a five-star hotel, so the search was over. The tone for accommodation was set, after a four-star hotel in Amsterdam.

Sunset at Scheveningen. After finding fantastic accommodation we then drove to the nearby beach to have a fabulous dinner on the boardwalk. The beach at Den Haag just served up a spectacular sunset for us.

More sunset on the boardwalk.

More fantastic sunset.

The beach is still a bit of a resort like Brighton. The beach front is a boardwalk with cafes, restaurants, amusement ride and markets. We prefer this beach over Brighton.Continue to Day 3...